A man accused of attempting to sexually assault a seven-year-old girl died at a hospital after being thrashed by an angry mob in Jhenaidah's Char Khajura area on Thursday.

The deceased was identified as Billal Hossain, 40, son of Barkat Ullah of Deuli village in Mohammadpur upazila of Magura district.

He worked as a rickshaw puller in Jhenaidah and had been living in a rented room at Jhinukmala Housing Project in Char Khajura.

According to witnesses and police, Billal allegedly lured the child to his room with the promise of buying her sweets and later attempted to sexually assault her.

Police said the incident occurred in the afternoon when Billal allegedly took the girl to his room and gave her Tk 10. Local residents rushed to the spot after hearing the child's screams and rescued her.

An enraged crowd then caught Billal, tied him up and allegedly beat him.

On receiving information, police rescued the man and took him into custody before admitting him to Jhenaidah 250-bed General Hospital for treatment.

He died there around 7pm while undergoing treatment, police said.

Rustam Ali, a resident of the housing project, said Billal had moved into the area about a week ago after renting a room.

Jhenaidah Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Asaduzzaman said the girl's mother filed a case with the police station on Thursday, accusing Billal of sexual abuse.

"The accused was rescued from the scene and admitted to hospital under police custody. He later died while receiving treatment," the OC said.

The body has been kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy.

Police said legal action would be taken following an investigation into both the sexual assault allegation and the mob beating that led to the suspect's death.